Ranger
Description Rangers are the people of the forest, living off its products & helping out animals in need. They feel more at home among the trees than tall buildings. They are skilled hunters and trackers & it has been known for various kinds of animals to aid Rangers in combat. Rangers are dedicated to nature and life in all its forms, thus they strive to defend it from the ravages of civilization. While personal freedoms are key to a Ranger's world view, so too is the view that life is to be preserved where possible. Rangers sway decidedly towards the 'good' side on the great pendulum of good and evil whilst maintaining a healthy respect for the Balance. Rangers are able to skin their prey and make their hides into armour and cloaks, as well as forage and hunt for food in the wilds which enables them to survive alone with ease. As a result of spending their lives wandering across the lands tracking animals, the Rangers are very fit and are able to travel long distances without tiring. Many eventually join a Clan, sworn to protect a specific animal and all Clan members gain special abilities based on the animal they choose to protect. Permitted Armour: Mail, Leather & Cloth. Wizard in Charge: Stom Deputy Wizard: ?? Stats Skills Guild Hall Location: West end of Woodsmans Way (See Maps). Directions to Drakenwood Square: 'w, sw, se, 5e, 2ne, 3e, 2s, 2se, 2e, 3s, sw, 2s, []. '''Directions from Drakenwood Square '[], 2n, ne, 3n, 2w, 2nw, 2n, 3w, 2sw, 5w, nw, ne, e. '''Guild Features * Alaf the grizzled old Guide can give a lot of handy information if you "talk" to him... * A Tattooist for Clan members to gain various temporary buffs from. * Thanin, a Shopkeeper. * A silvery lake shared with the Druid Guild to swim in, recuperate and fish in! * Farlain the Bowyer who can help with Ranger crafting skills. * Tetley the beloved wild dog! * A kettle to "boil" to make everyone a refreshing cuppa! Ranger Skills Ranger skills are often restricted by Terrain, from as simple as indoors/outdoors issues to the differences between Forest, Desert, Mountains etc. Ranger Companions Companion animals summoned by the Call Animal ability are dependant on the terrain the Ranger is in when attempting to summon them as well as that Ranger's Clan. The Clans At Level 16 Rangers may choose a Clan, a kinship with a kind of animal that is so strong it colours all they do and enhances some skills but weakens others. Clan members may also get temporary tattoos at their Guild Hall, providing short term bonuses. Leaving a Clan is possible, but you will NEVER be able to rejoin that it, you will lose up to 33% of your current experience and all abilities and bonuses. Also should you ever harm an animal with which you share an affinity you will suffer severe losses of both Experience and Skills! With that in mind, here are the available Clans... Clan Bear Bears are strong and tough, advocating physical strength as the means to win the day. Whilst every Ranger knows that cunning and strength go hand in hand, those of Clan Bear have honed their raw physical power to such an extent that all other things being equal, they will best all but the toughest of foes. Thus they are extremely strong, hardy and powerful in hand to hand combat. Clan Bear hold any kind of Bear as sacred but above all they have an affinity with the Grizzly, with whom they share a special bond. Clan Eagle Believing that precision of action and timing can turn even the toughest battle, Eagle share the closest link to their animal kin. They also benefit from vastly improved vision and form telepathic links to the Eagles, viewing the world through their eyes and summoning flights of them to strike down at their foes. Fairly obviously, Clan Eagle prefer an open sky and have an extreme dislike for being underground. Clan Eagle are kin to every type of Eagle found within the Western Realms, but their rarity means that it is hard to say if they are particually close with any one type... Clan Stag Like their forest dwelling kindred, these elusive and secretive Rangers are fleet of foot and experts at evasion. More than any they understand that to stand and fight when the advantage is with your foe brings death. By choosing their battles carefully Clan Stag achieve great success in combat and should the tide turn against them they slip back into the forest like ghosts. Some have made the mistake of believing this to be a sign of weakness and have paid for their mistake with their life, falling to a devastating impalement they never saw coming. Even by the standards of the already hardy Rangers the Stag are possessed of great stamina and can cover extremely long distances without needing to stop and rest, not that they would enter towns or villages to do so as this Clan has great contempt for them, finding the closely packed streets to be extremely claustrophobic. Clan Stag are kin to all kinds of Deer and Stags and show great affinity to all similar creatures. Clan Wolf None understand the value of teamwork as well this stealthy Clan. They often travel in parties composed solely of Clan members, possessing sudden and terrifying bursts of ferocity - enough to overcome all but the most stalwart defenders. Clan Wolf excels in matters of hunting and stalking, preferring sudden hit and run attacks and the ferocity of the pack at hunt to bring down their foe before their victims can react. They can also tap into the raw, primal fear of the Wolf that dwells within every creature and are generally intimidating. They are kin to all the many Wolves of the Realms but spend most of their time around Forest Wolves. Ranger Races Artrell: Tricky, as your likely gonna be weighed down by all your gear, Artrell can utilise a great many tricks later on when they can wield a Projectile weapon as well as a Blade or some other. Many find the weightless weaponry of a Cleric to their advantage or sometimes those of a darker bent go down the path of the Rogue (Assassin or Bandit). In any event, life is very difficult until then! Aurin: The natural dexterity and woodland knowledge of these beings makes them excellent Rangers. Any Clan is viable based on whether Bows or Blade is prefered, with most opting for Eagle or Wolf. Fragile as they are, many become very powerful later by joining the Druid or Warmage Guilds to bolster their knowledge. Centaur: Ridiculous! Centaur are amazing Rangers, finding their innate talents perfectly in tune with this Guild. Their innate Riding abilities are also free in terms of EXP for quite some time! Seriously if you need it explained why this combo is sick you are thicker than Nasty's "special-time" sock-crust! Go Druid or Monk later for truly silly abilities! Drow: Less capable than their Elven brethren with woodcraft, but more talented at dealing damage, Drow are actually surprisingly good Rangers. Of course they tend to focus on the ways of the Eagle or Wolf to hurt people more, and delight later in adding Rogue abilities to their arsenal. Dwarf: The Clans of Bear and Stag appeal most to these folk, capitalising on their strong and hardy natures. Their extensive Blade skills make short work of a foe and most make up for their lack of defensive capability with good Shields. Later on many move to Fighter or Cleric (Brangwen or Caitlin) to continue improving in this regard. Elf: Naturally drawn to Eagle or Wolf, Elves tend to focus on Projectile weaponry. Their damaging abilities are superb and later shifts to either Druid or Rogue only increase this. They are a tad fragile however... Faerie: Fragile beings, a Faerie Ranger does best by focusing on Projectile use and following the Eagle or Wolf clans. This aids later when moving to either Rogue (Any) or Monk (Phys/Def) to grant either increased stealth and trickery or resilience and healing. Their ability to fly is a major asset too! Giant: Giants can only succeed as Rangers by using a Blade & Shields, followed by either Bear or Stag Clan support later on to bolster this. They are tough and powerful, but lack too much of the essential Ranger talents to seem like anything other than a poor version of their Fighter brethren... Gnome: Dont be so damn silly! If you must torture yourself this way then multi into Cleric (Jeroth or Brangwen or Warmage at the earliest chance! Just...just gonnae no! Half-Elf: See the advice for Humans, but go with Projectile weapons and Eagle clan. 'Nuff said... Human: Average is as average does, a Human would do well to decide early on whether they prefer the Blade and thus would do better as Bear or Stag, or Projectile weaponry and thus lean toward Eagle or Wolf. Whichever route is chosen, life is generally easier with your skills training quickly and your versatility being an asset if used wisely. Most will take up whatever Multi choice they think either plugs gaps in their playstyle or further boosts any advantages they have gained. The choice is yours alone! Lizardman: Step 1: Get a Blade and Shields. Step 2: Stab stuff till you can take Bear or Stag Clan. Step 3: Multi as Fighter if Bear, Rogue (Bandit)) if Stag. Step 4: Stab stuff until everythings maxed. (Optional Step 1: reroll as a Fighter.) Nymph: Squishy but talented, Nymphs have incredible woodland knowledge as well as phenomenal desterity. Thus Eagle clan and Projectile use calls out to them like no other. Most Multi as a Druid for obvious reasons, though some few charming types do incredibly well as Rogue (Cutpurse)! Satyr: Much as the Dwarf, but with more of an emphasis on Druid than Cleric later on. Blade and Shields does well early on, and the Stag clan in particular suits these horny fellows down to the ground! Half-Orc: Poor early on, you can really come into your own with either a choice of Stag and then Rogue (Bandit), though some who take Bear or Stag seek either the Fighter or Monk paths. In all ways though, focus on the Blade as your main weapon! Halfling: Ludicrously skilled with Projectile weaponry, Clan Eagle cries out to the hearts of these small folk. Truly the best with a bow, Halflings find life as a Ranger almost too easy apart from some decisions on encumberance until they grow strong enough. Later many add the abilities of a Monk (Physical/Any) or Rogue (Any) to their knowledge depending on their personal inclinations. Ranger Multi-Classes Ranger-Cleric: Noteable if you like murdering the Undead or Evil beings. You become much tougher but only get stronger vs these kinds of creatures... Ranger-Druid: Nice! The loss of chain is compensated for by crafted armour and the gain in protection, utility and offense is REALLY incredible! Ranger-Fighter: Not...really much gained from this, unless you want to switch to or train new weapon types. Could work for some like Giants though... Fighter-Monk: Nifty! Racially dependant but all-in-all the armour loss balances out with defence gain, and you shoot faster too! Fun for all! Ranger-Rogue: Nasty! Wolf clan like this a lot and the specialisations can make for sick combat ability, but you need to think more about HOW you fight. Ranger-Warmage: Novelty! Unparalleled tracking ability and handy spells, you get damn squishy but gain massive utility. One for the clever types methinks. __NOEDITSECTION__ __NONEWSECTIONLINK__ Category:Class